I grew up in a small town in Hudson, Massachusetts. My high school was newly built by the time I got there in 8th grade. Yes, we start high school at 8th grade because our middle school is too small to fit the class. I think starting earlier in the high school setting makes the transition easier rather than starting in 9th grade. You get a sneak peek of what high school is like, what is expected, and how to fit in. Luckily, my sister was a senior when I entered in school in 8th grade, so she showed me around and to my classes.
The strengths of our school were always English, Sciences, and Math courses. When I was at Massbay Community College last year, I would revise some fellow students' papers and be absolutely shocked with how poorly they were written. For college students, I found it a tragedy that some people could still not spell or have any sense of grammatical knowledge. Realizing that those students probably did not have the sufficient information given to them in high school made me see how we have great English courses. We were forced to know how to check spelling and grammar, doing exercises of how to conduct papers all throughout high school. We also had newly built labs for our science classes. We were fortunate enough to have the tools required for not just lectures, but hands on learning along with visual learning. In my Anatomy class my senior year we dissected a pig, an owl, a cat, and many other animals. It followed by the certain parts of the body we were learning in our books, we were able to put our knowledge to the test and find the certain organs and bodily functions. The key to actually understanding material is not just reading about it and taking a test, but applying your knowledge ti real life situations. It helps to make all the information come together and make sense.
At Hudson High our math teachers were all very intelligent. Math is one subject I've struggled with my entire life. I was always a little slower than others at taking my time and thoroughly paying attention to the details in word problems. However, there are many different levels of math you can take at the school, which is nice because you can go at your own pace when learning different types of math. In 7th grade, everyone is required to take a math placement test that will either place you in regular Algebra class for 8th grade, or Pre-Algebra. I was of course placed in Pre-Algebra, but I had a great teacher named Carla Pavao that worked with me on my math skills. When she could see I was getting frustrated on a certain problem, she would always stop me from getting too frustrated and take her time perfecting my understanding on a problem. I really appreciate a teacher that doesn't overlook me and stays with me every step of the way towards gaining new information and skills.
That is why bigger classrooms are not necessarily the best for me. I like smaller classes where a teacher can help students out individually. That is one thing I have realized coming to this school, I have some classes with 10-20 kids in it, and other lectures with 200-300 students in it. It is quite overwhelming and scary to be in a big classroom because the teacher does not have the time to help you. It is completely up to you to take the time to go to a tutor, or ask your classmates questions. Your just a another number in the eyes of the teachers in classes like that.
All in all my high school was a well-rounded, well-developed school. I would not have wanted to go to any other school. There were lazy teachers as there were the hard working teachers. There were a few bullies but almost all the students were approachable, nice people. The one downfall of that school I would say is the guidance counseling. There is a select two people I can name that were professionals at what thy did, but the rest of them were entirely lazy, gossiping townies that are unhappy with their lives. They would gossip about other students, teachers and faculty, as I'm sure teachers did to behind the scenes. I remember my guidance counselor was the worst of them all. Her name was Mrs. Wilcox. Whenever I had an appointment with her, I always left feeling like I was talking to a rock. She absolutely had no advice for me and never gave me a sense of direction. During our appointments she would ask me about students' personal lives, and find out some "juicy" secrets. It always made me extremely uncomfortable. I am not saying this because I am just a "kid," this lady gets many complaints from parents and adults as well. Other than that, my school was a great school. We had all types of sports and extra curricular activities to keep us busy, in shape, and focused. I feel it is a tragedy for high schools that do not have the opportunities that I had. It is not fair, every kid deserves an equal opportunity for success. It is usually not the case though, which is the downfall in our Democratic society. We are all about having everyone be equal, but we do not have the resources to make that idea perfect in our society. We can always just keep working towards that goal. That is all we can really do about it, the world cannot be a perfect place.
The strengths of our school were always English, Sciences, and Math courses. When I was at Massbay Community College last year, I would revise some fellow students' papers and be absolutely shocked with how poorly they were written. For college students, I found it a tragedy that some people could still not spell or have any sense of grammatical knowledge. Realizing that those students probably did not have the sufficient information given to them in high school made me see how we have great English courses. We were forced to know how to check spelling and grammar, doing exercises of how to conduct papers all throughout high school. We also had newly built labs for our science classes. We were fortunate enough to have the tools required for not just lectures, but hands on learning along with visual learning. In my Anatomy class my senior year we dissected a pig, an owl, a cat, and many other animals. It followed by the certain parts of the body we were learning in our books, we were able to put our knowledge to the test and find the certain organs and bodily functions. The key to actually understanding material is not just reading about it and taking a test, but applying your knowledge ti real life situations. It helps to make all the information come together and make sense.
At Hudson High our math teachers were all very intelligent. Math is one subject I've struggled with my entire life. I was always a little slower than others at taking my time and thoroughly paying attention to the details in word problems. However, there are many different levels of math you can take at the school, which is nice because you can go at your own pace when learning different types of math. In 7th grade, everyone is required to take a math placement test that will either place you in regular Algebra class for 8th grade, or Pre-Algebra. I was of course placed in Pre-Algebra, but I had a great teacher named Carla Pavao that worked with me on my math skills. When she could see I was getting frustrated on a certain problem, she would always stop me from getting too frustrated and take her time perfecting my understanding on a problem. I really appreciate a teacher that doesn't overlook me and stays with me every step of the way towards gaining new information and skills.
That is why bigger classrooms are not necessarily the best for me. I like smaller classes where a teacher can help students out individually. That is one thing I have realized coming to this school, I have some classes with 10-20 kids in it, and other lectures with 200-300 students in it. It is quite overwhelming and scary to be in a big classroom because the teacher does not have the time to help you. It is completely up to you to take the time to go to a tutor, or ask your classmates questions. Your just a another number in the eyes of the teachers in classes like that.
All in all my high school was a well-rounded, well-developed school. I would not have wanted to go to any other school. There were lazy teachers as there were the hard working teachers. There were a few bullies but almost all the students were approachable, nice people. The one downfall of that school I would say is the guidance counseling. There is a select two people I can name that were professionals at what thy did, but the rest of them were entirely lazy, gossiping townies that are unhappy with their lives. They would gossip about other students, teachers and faculty, as I'm sure teachers did to behind the scenes. I remember my guidance counselor was the worst of them all. Her name was Mrs. Wilcox. Whenever I had an appointment with her, I always left feeling like I was talking to a rock. She absolutely had no advice for me and never gave me a sense of direction. During our appointments she would ask me about students' personal lives, and find out some "juicy" secrets. It always made me extremely uncomfortable. I am not saying this because I am just a "kid," this lady gets many complaints from parents and adults as well. Other than that, my school was a great school. We had all types of sports and extra curricular activities to keep us busy, in shape, and focused. I feel it is a tragedy for high schools that do not have the opportunities that I had. It is not fair, every kid deserves an equal opportunity for success. It is usually not the case though, which is the downfall in our Democratic society. We are all about having everyone be equal, but we do not have the resources to make that idea perfect in our society. We can always just keep working towards that goal. That is all we can really do about it, the world cannot be a perfect place.